Easy 4 Step Seitan

Personally, there is no greater protein in the veggie world than seitan!  Why you ask?  Well, because it's high in protein, low in fat and just plain yummy.  For more information on it, check out my previous post about seitan.

Nothing beats homemade seitan.  But, I'll be honest - when the thought first occurred to me to make it, I was pretty intimated.  It sounded like something that would be long and tedious to make.  Would it even really be worth it?  All the other prepared seitan I bought at stores were well, pretty gross.  Needless to say, I was totally WRONG.  Homemade seitan is leaps and bounds better than store bought seitan.

I make triple to quadruple batches on the weekend, place 4 cutlets in 1 Ziploc bag, pour some cooking liquid in the bag and freeze it.  I use it throughout the week in all my recipes.  It's just wonderful.  There's not much else I can say other than I truly recommend you give homemade seitan a go!


Easy 4 Step Seitan

Time:  1.5 Hr      |      Servings:  8       |      Difficulty:  Low


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/4 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon Marmite or Vegemite
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a microplane grater
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

10 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce



Preparation

Okay - making seitan is as easy as 1-2-3-4.

1.  In a large bowl, mix together gluten flour and nutritional yeast.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix together veg broth, soy sauce, marmite, poultry seasoning, garlic, lemon zest and tomato paste, if using.

3.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine, knead dough for about 3 minutes until a spongy, very elastic dough is formed.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

4.  Roll out seitan and cut into 4 pieces.  This may be difficult - but using a sharp knife will be helpful!  Add to a pot with water, soy sauce and bouillon cubes.  Bring everything to a boil and turn down to a gentle simmer.  Simmer for 1 hour , turning occasionally.

That's it!  Enjoy in any recipe!



Suggestions:
- Seitan is lacking the amino acid lysine - to make your protein complete, eat with pulses (ie, beans, legumes)

The Ultimate Vegan Cutlet!

I humbly offer my recipe to the long traditions of cutlet recipes. What I love about this recipe is that it is the best of both worlds: it includes tofu and gluten (Seitan), meaning not only does it hold well texture-wise, it also absorbs the flavours it marinades it. Using an array of herbs and spices, this recipe transforms the generally accepted as bland tofu and gluten into powerful a culinary constituent! It is a cinch to make and I hope you find it as useful as I have.

Note:  If 8 Cutlets (Servings) are too many, this recipe can easily be halved or quartered. 

Veg Cutlet

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings (Cutlets) | Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius.

In food processor, add all ingredients except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick, but still pour-able, paste. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a dry-ish dough (not sticky to touch) begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary.
Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

Cut in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound flat.

Coat cutlets with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Bake cutlets in oven, turning once, for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
VARIATIONS:
-     You can replace the tofu with 1.5 cups of any kind of pureed bean (I recommend chickpeas or navy beans); make as normal.
-     Instead of oil, you can use any sauce you prefer and bake these as normal.  Make sure to grease the baking sheet.  BBQ recipe to follow.


*Marmite can be found in most normal grocery stores. I usually find it in the baking aisle, near the spices. If you cannot find Marmite, use Vegemite - and if you cannot find that, sub the Marmite for extra soy sauce.